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The response of the Michael Cherney Foundation
to the tragic events of June 1, 2001 (when an Arab suicide
bomber slaughtered 21 people outside the Dolphinarium Disco
in Tel Aviv) was prompt and generous. Within days, representatives
were visiting the parents of the victims in order to help
them both with direct cash donations and overall psychological
support.
This assistance did not dwindle as time went
by. Soon, two Israeli journalists, Dmitry Radyshevsky (the
Executive director of the Foundation) and Polina Lempert,
began interviewing all the survivors and the victims' parents.
Their oral testimony served as basis for the book with the
same title Dolphinarium: Terror Targets the Young, published
by the Foundation in three languages: Russian, English, and
Hebrew. The Hebrew edition was officially presented to public
on May 30, 2002, on the first anniversary of the tragedy.
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In the course of preparing the English-language version of the
book, David Gurevich, the U.S. representative of the Cherney
Foundation, conceived the idea of a film based on this tragic
event.
He contacted Willy Lindwer, a well-known
Dutch filmmaker and an Emmy winner for his film on the last
months of Anne Frank (see Mr. Lindwer's bio enclosed). Mr.
Lindwer's response was immediate and overwhelming. "It
will be an honor," he said.
The Michael Cherney Foundation backed the
project enthusiastically, providing full financing, with Mr.
Gurevich appointed Producer. The bulk of the film consists
of the interviews with survivors and the victims' parents,
all shot around the Tel Aviv area, including the location
outside the Dolphinarium proper. It also makes extensive use
of the footage of the night of the disaster and the home videos
left behind the victims.
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